" 'I AM STRONG.
I'M INVINCIBLE.
I AM WOMAN.'

So says the pop song, and so say women down through the centuries, as they affirm their status alongside men in this world."

The Visible Woman is a club at Cranford High School aimed at studying and discussing issues that affect female students. It is not anti-male. In fact, it has included some stalwart male members. If women are ever to achieve gender equity, they need the help of males in understanding the problems and producing results. The club works to achieve gender equity in school, in work and in the marketplace. It aims to develop insightful individuals who will assume leadership positions in their community.

The club is an outgrowth of student efforts. In 1994 a small group of female students approached Mrs. Eileen Dachnowicz of the English Department for help in founding a club that would deal specifically with the problems of growing up female. The students, Alyssa Wright and Jessica Moltisanti, believed that the existing clubs at school never touched on these problems and that classes often ignored the special concerns of one half of the student population. After undergoing the process for administrative approval, the club made its official debut in fall 1994. Since its inception the club has been a vital force in both the school and the community. Its annual forum in March to mark Women's History Month has honored females who have triumphed in diverse fields.

The first year's agenda basically concentrated on readings in women's history so that the members would get an idea of women's role over the years. The group worked on behalf of the battered women of Union County by holding a holiday brunch and donating the proceeds to the YWCA of Union County. Plans were underway for the publication of a school newsletter informing the whole school of feminist issues and our role.

By the second year of operation, the group did publish the newsletter and drew more members to its ranks. The girls became aware of their participation patterns in clubs and activities. Consciously, the members developed strategies that would enable them to take risks and to explore options opened to them. Three successful brunches took place at which a female lawyer, a scientist, a homemaker, a teacher, and an artist addressed the group and explained the rewards and difficulties of their life choices.

The third year saw the development of an activist role. After reading and discussing Failing at Fairness, Schoolgirls, and Reviving Ophelia, the members realized that the onset of loss of self-esteem occurs at the middle school level when females are entering puberty. This period also is the beginning of eating disorders, depression and academic decline. To help Cranford counteract this problem, the members held the first school-wide symposium on gender equity. Four members made presentations based on their readings; this, in turn, prompted a discussion by the audience. Well attended by both male and female students, the forum was an overwhelming success. Not only did it serve as the group's contribution to Women's History month, but also it opened the door to additional discussion in which both faculty and student body became aware of "how schools were cheating girls."

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